rash (jay)

It wasn't unusual for Thia to stay late to study these days. Sometimes she would even stay there and miss dinner, so I wasn't worried that she did this time. When the sun stated to go down though and she still wasn't back, then I started to worry. I sat by the window watching the sky grow dark. (The sun always set behind the forest) waiting for her to come back. One time I heard people whispering in the corridors there was something they weren't telling us. Something about Thia I had no doubt. And they weren't telling me because they still thought of me as a child, too young to understand. When I realised that, the anger began to boil inside me.

If James were still here, I bet he'd tell me.

Yes, I was still only ten and yes, I still went to school, but I hadn't been a child for many years.

Even after we all went to bed, with me and Sam sharing a room, all I could think about was how they treated me, and my Thia, all alone out there. God knows where she was, what might have happened to her. At around midnight, I gave up trying to sleep. I climbed out of bed and walked over to the window, opened it and looked down. I'd never climbed a building before but I reckoned I could try. It wasn't that far down. I looked up and saw the balcony. There were three of them. One on each side (the dog's paws, they called those two.) and a few levels higher, one in the middle. (called the dog's nose.)

This one was one of the paw's, only a couple of level's higher than where I was.

I looked back at Sam sleeping soundly and considered, then decided. "sorry guys." I whispered, then jumped out the window.

It wasn't that much harder than climbing trees. You just had to find a few window ledges, and there were a lot of windows.

Once I was down, I stopped to think what to do next. Go find Buddy, fly over the gates, and go where? Where would I start? What would I be looking for? Signs. any signs. I'd start at the school, that was where she was last. I made my way to Buddy's stable. He was sleeping with his head under his wing but he got up when he heard me coming.

"Shh, easy Buddy. We got a job to do." I climbed up over his wing and on his back. "go quietly now." I whispered.

"Where to, master." One of the best things about Buddy was that only I could know what he was saying.

"Out into the city. We're looking for someone."

He obeyed without question (another thing I liked about Buddy.) slowly raising his golden wings. Galloping would've made to much noise but the soft rustle of feathers made barley a sound. We flew over the gate in almost silence. I always used to like flying around on Buddy but I hadn't done it for a while. I'd stayed on the ground, where everyone could see me. Now though, it was more important that people didn't see me. Flying over the city was even better than riding through it. I could see everything but at that moment I had to keep an eye out for a specific thing.

"There it is. The school. Down, buddy down."

The golden hippogriff dived gently, landing with a soft click-clack just outside the school. There was a little alleyway further down. I considered it for a moment, then turned Buddy back towards the school gates. I didn't dare dismount. Whatever got Thia could try and get me but with Buddy I could ride off and get out of reach in an instant.

The school was closed, dark and empty. I tried to peak in through the windows but the city lights made the reflection on the window to hard to see through, so I flew Buddy round the back. There was a small playground and a field and a few mini busses but everything looked normal. Whether Thia was taken or not, it clearly didn't happen while she was still at school. Filled with a sudden anger, I wheeled Buddy around in the direction we'd come. If they want me to play, I'll play.

Not caring if anyone saw or heard me anymore, we galloped back down out of the school and towards the Alleyway.